To those of you who’ve already entered, don’t forget to get those fancy dress costumes ready! We’ve got some great prizes from Cotic Bikes including a ‘Grit and Steel’ poster worth £100 for the best dressed rider!

It’s not long to go until the cyclists descend on Fox Valley for the Steel Gravel Tour! With only a few weeks to go, riders will be starting to think about how best to prepare for the event, here’s some tips and information that should help you make the most of the event.

Which bike to bring?

You really can use nearly any type of bike to tackle the Steel Gravel Tour route. If you’re going to use a road bike then it may be worth fitting some slightly wider tyres, perhaps with some tread and puncture protection to give you extra grip and confidence on the ‘off- road’ sections.

GCN have made this useful video, which has some great tips on how to ride gravel on a standard road bike

Don’t leave it until the last minute to get your bike ready

We’ve all done it, waited until the day before an event to get our bikes ready to take on a challenging ride or race. Make sure you get your bike working well and replace those worn and broken parts if needed. If you don’t have the knowledge yourself, head down to a friendly bike shop like Full Gas Bikes who will be happy to get your bike running smoothly. It’s a busy time for bike shops now with people getting their bikes out of winter hibernation for the warmer weather, so don’t leave it until the last minute to book your bike in for a service.

Get your body ready too

The Steel Gravel Tour route may only be 44 miles, but it packs in some serious climbing in that time, including 3 of the categorised climbs the Tour de Yorkshire is tackling on Stage 3. Get your body used to the demands of riding up steep climbs. If you don’t have any hills near you then try riding when there’s a headwind and ride into it!

Fuelling right

Eating and drinking enough to keep you fuelled before and during the event can certainly make the difference between having a great day out in the saddle and feeling pretty horrific! We will have plenty of food and drink at our ‘woodland tea party’ feed station at around 16 miles on the route. It’s also worth bring some of your own food and drink too to keep you topped up just in case.

Mechanical issues

We’ve all had the occasional puncture and more serious mechanical issues when we’re out for a ride, it’s just part of cycling. Full Gas Bikes will be on hand with their team car, so that if you get a mechanical while on course, they’ll do their best to get you rolling again. It’s also a good idea to take some spares and basic tools with you too, so if something minor goes wrong, you can get going quickly again.

Staying on track

It’s always a concern when you’re riding a route you don’t know, have I missed a turn? The Steel Gravel Tour route will be clearly marked with arrows and marshals will be on hand at the trickier junctions. The route is available for you to download from Ride With GPS, so if you have a GPS device it’ll be easy to follow. We’ll also give you a map of the route on the day.

What about parking?

Tata Steel have kindly arranged for us to use their car park and it’s right next to the event HQ at Full Gas Bikes.

More information

The event itself will start at 9.30 am, but we’ll be sending out detailed information about arrangements for the event around 1 week ahead of the event, so keep an eye on your emails for that.

Entries to the Steel Gravel Tour are now open!

Head over to our ENTER page for details on how to enter. Be quick, as entries are limited.

As If you needed any more encouragement to get your entry in to this great event, but here’s 5 reasons why you should get signed up-

A free water bottle- Full Gas Bikes have been kind enough to offer every entrant to the event a free water bottle, they’re good looking too!

2. Fancy dress– You can really get into the spirit for the Tour de Yorkshire by getting dressed up and having a great time on your bike. Cotic Bikes have kindly donated some fantastic prizes for the best dressed too! Fancy dress is optional.

3. The route– The route is 44 miles of fantastic gravel paths and country lanes, and the surrounding countryside is stunning with some great views. You even get a chance to ride 3 of the categorised climbs on the stage 3 route of the Tour de Yorkshire before the pros.

4. A woodland tea party– This novel ‘feed station’ will be a fun way to refuel, with cakes and hot teas and coffees, it’s sure to help get you to the end of the route too!

5. A great way to end a ride– You will have a free cup of tea or coffee waiting for you at the finish and bike washing facilities to use to get your ride shiny and clean. You’ll be in an awesome bike shop too which has some really nice kit for you to peruse.